1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of Machine to Machine (M2M) communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to group communication in a M2M environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, which may also be referred to as Machine-Type Communications (MTC), is a form of data communications between devices, such as MTC devices, that may communicate without human interaction or a human generated command. For example, in M2M communication, an MTC device, such as a sensor or meter, may capture event data which is then relayed through an operator network to an application residing in an MTC server for analysis and necessary action. The MTC device and the MTC server may communicate with each other using an operator network based on network technologies such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technologies, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), or any other similar and/or suitable communication and/or network technology.
M2M communication may be used in a variety of areas such as smart metering systems which may provide applications related to power, gas, water, heating, grid control, and industrial metering, surveillance systems, order management, gaming machines, health care communication and any other similar and/or suitable area in which M2M communication may be used. Additionally, M2M communication based on MTC technology may be used in areas such as customer service.
Recent advancement in M2M communication has enabled grouping of MTC devices together such that the operator of MTC devices may easily manage MTC devices belonging to the same group. For example, a MTC server may be linked to a plurality of production plants that employ or use MTC devices in order to monitor and maximize production of the plurality of production plants. The MTC devices belonging to the same group may be in a same location, may have the same and/or similar MTC features and may belong to the same MTC user. Such arrangements of MTC devices provides flexibility in allocating a group and hence may provide an easier mode for operations such as controlling, updating, charging, and other similar and/or suitable operations of the MTC devices in a granularity of a group. Thus, redundant signaling may be significantly reduced to avoid congestion when performing M2M communication. In a MTC group, the MTC devices may be securely addressed for control, management, or charging operations. However, according to related art, one or more group messages may be broadcasted to the MTC devices in an insecure manner, which may sometimes lead to spoofing of group messages. Accordingly, there is a need for secure group communication using M2M communication.